How Do You Calculate Protein Block Requirements?
If cattle aren’t getting enough protein, one solution is to provide them with protein blocks. Composed of protein meal and other ingredients, the blocks provide cattle with extra nutrition every time the animals lick them. The Australian government says blocks can be as high as 62 percent protein, but the higher the protein content, the higher the expense. Calculating the right amount of protein needed will enable you to provide cows with enough nutrition without spending too much. Figure out your herd’s size and condition. Jane Parish of Mississippi State University says a cow’s need for crude protein–measured as the protein in their feed plus the non-protein nitrogen–increases when they’re nursing, putting on weight or recovering from giving birth; young, growing calves have particularly high needs. The more milk a cow gives or the more it grows, the more protein it will need; the book “Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle” says maximum milk output occurs when crude protein is 23
